U.S. Presidents & First Ladies

William McKinley

William McKinley, born in 1843 in Ohio, was a Civil War veteran and lawyer who served in Congress and as Governor of Ohio. Before he assumed the presidency in 1897, he returned to his home in Canton, Ohio, where this calling card was signed. As the 25th president, McKinley focused on economic growth — using protective tariffs and supporting the gold standard — while also leading the nation during the Spanish-American War which expanded American influence overseas. McKinley was re-elected in 1900, but was assassinated in 1901, a pivotal moment that ushered VP Theodore Roosevelt’s “Progressive Era.”